In all-important senses, in terms of demography, the extent of its administrative use and its cultural impact, Spanish is one of the world's major languages and the first language of more than 400 million people.
It is one of the two main languages of the Latin American countries, the principal one of Spain, and the most widely spoken language after English in the United States. It is an official language of the United Nations and the World Bank. It is the medium of such major works of literature as Don Quixote and One Hundred Years of Solitude, and such well-known film directors as Pedro Almodóvar and Luis Buñuel. Learning Spanish gives students highly employable communication skills in a competitive globalised labour market.
All core language subjects contain elements of general culture and civilisation analysed through the study of written, audio and visual material. A great deal of emphasis is placed on competence in the language (or languages) studied, but linguistic competence is not the sole aim of study. Understanding different cultures is paramount.
